A Journey of Light
by SummerGirl0009
Summary: An evil presence from the past has once again reappeared in Kari's life. However, Kari is trapped inside an unfamiliar region of the digital world without Gatomon or her other friends.
1. Chapter 1

It had been almost a month since Tai had left home for school, yet Kari was still startled by the size of her now empty room. She collapsed on the bottom bunk and just managed to pull off her tennis shoes before drifting off into sleep.

Gatomon looked over at the sleeping girl and felt her own weariness tug at her muscles. Saving the digiworld was hard work after all. We deserve a good night's sleep, she thought, while settling down on her makeshift bed near Kari's feet. Before long, the depth of the digimon's slumber matched that of the girl beside her.

But however greatly Gatomon had prayed for a good night's sleep, it was not to be…

"Kari!" a distant voice called.

"Kari!"

Kari snapped awake, her eyes fluttering as she regained consciousness. There was a light on somewhere because she could see Gatomon's face hovering above hers.

"Gatomon what is it? What's wrong?" she asked immediately. Kari looked closer and saw worry and fright clearly etched in the digimon's catlike features.

Gatomon looked down, "you were shouting," she said casually. It was then Kari recognized the trembling of her limbs, the cold sweat on her back, and the adrenaline lingering in her nervous system. Awkwardly, she pushed back her blankets and climbed out of her bed. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light and she then noticed the source. Her D3 was vibrating slightly and emitting a bright pink light from its place on the desk beside her computer. Strangely, the computer was also turned on and humming as computers do.

Gatomon watched silently as Kari rose from the bed. She blinked hard when she thought she saw Kari's figure almost 'flicker'. "Turn off the light and let's get some shuteye," she moaned and stretched her stiffening limbs. Kari, however, must not have heard, because she did not touch the digivice or even acknowledge Gatomon's proclamation.

"Kari?" Gatomon asked hesitantly, and then in the blink of an eye, Kari vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

Gatomon blinked and then blinked again. This is very, very bad, she thought. She leaped over to the computer desk and picked up Kari's D3. The light and the vibrating had stopped as swiftly as Kari had disappeared. Gatomon placed the digivice carefully between her teeth and swung open the sliding glass door on to the balcony.

The digimon rushed down the fire escape, jumping from floor to floor, barely touching the iron wrought stairs. She was only slightly out of breath when her paws hit pavement, but that did not slow her down. She ran down the street dodging people and cars, ignoring the curious look the humans were giving her. It wasn't long before she made a right turn off of the busy city street. Panting heavily now, she made several more turns until she reached the building she needed.

She circled the building inconspicuously before crouching in the shelter of a flowery shrub. Unfortunately, this apartment building was different from Kari's in the fact that even if she jumped higher than she ever had, she still could not reach the fire escape.

After thinking it through, Gatomon smiled slyly as a plan formed in her mind. With that she trotted out of the bush towards the short wall that separated the terrace on a first floor apartment from the sidewalk. In one smooth movement she hopped over the wall and moved towards the open doorway. Still holding Kari's digivice in her mouth she stepped silently into the apartment.

The television was blaring loudly and a very fat man sat in fixed in the chair in front of it laughing hysterically. He did not even notice the digicat creeping through the room behind him. She approached the front door and slowly reached up and twisted the handle. Sneakily, she stepped out into the hallway and shut the door quietly behind her.

Bolting down the corridor she passed the door marked "Stairs" and slid to a halt in front of it. I need to work out more, she though as she climbed the stairs three steps at a time. Finally she reached the right floor and ran down yet another hallway, although now her speed was slower than before.

She reached the right door, turned the knob, and…it was locked.

Frustrated, she pounded on the door with her gloved fists but no one came. I know Kari wouldn't approve of this, she though, but something is very wrong. She extended her claws and slipped a thin nail into the lock. The door clicked as she twisted her finger. She gently pushed in open and closed it behind her, not bothering to muffle the sound this time.

Her stomach dropped as she crept through he silent apartment, but her hope was renewed when she heard snoring coming from one of the bedrooms. Knowing this was the right room, she shoved through the door and spit out Kari's digivice.

"T.K. wake up!" she said as she leapt onto his bed.

Groggily he sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Gatomon?" he grumbled.

"T.K. something bad has happened to Kari," she began, but he cut her off.

Now fully awake, he interrupted her, "What happened? Where is she? Is she O.K.?" he asked hurriedly.

Hearing T.K.'s comments, Patamon awoke and asked, "What is everyone doing up? It's not morning yet."

"Kari's gone!" added Gatomon quickly. "I saw her vanish…I don't know what it means, but I don't think it's anything good."

"Do you think she went to the Dark Ocean? There's got to be a way to find her," said T.K., always hopeful.

"I don't know where she is T.K., and it's going to be difficult finding her since her D3 didn't go with her." Gatomon slid off of his bed and retrieved Kari's D3 from the floor.

"Maybe her D3 can tell us where she went," Patamon suggested. So T.K. and the two digimon make themselves comfortable on T.K.'s floor and began to fiddle with the buttons on Kari's D3. Almost an hour had passed and still they had found nothing useful.

"You know, Izzy would probably know how to find Kari, maybe even without her D3. Except that we'll have to wait until morning to get a hold of him," T.K. stated.

"I don't think we have any other choice T.K.," said Patamon, "but while we wait we can get back to sleep."

After Patamon had drifted back into a peaceful slumber Gatomon turned to T.K., "I have a bad feeling, I can sense that she needs us."

"I know what you mean Gatomon. I want to help Kari just as much as you do. I promise that I'll do whatever it takes to find her and bring her back safely," replied T.K., determination and hope shining brightly in his eyes. "There's nothing more that we can do tonight, so why don't you try and get some sleep? I think you're going to need all of the strength you can get."

Gatomon nodded and curled up beside Patamon. T.K. knew that he should try to take his own advice, but he also knew that there was no way that he could fall back to sleep while Kari was in danger. Pulling out his own D3 he leaned back against the side of his bed and set to work once more.


	3. Chapter 3

Kari's heart was pounding against her ribs. She slowly sat up while taking deep breaths. The forest around her was quiet and unrecognizable. She knew she had to be somewhere in the digital world, or at least, she hoped so.

Uncertainly, she looked around at her surroundings, seeking desperately for anything even remotely familiar. Her stomach fluttered, she couldn't recognize anything. The forest she was in was dark, the trees grown unnaturally close together. The air was stagnant and musky, humid but not particularly warm.

She took two shaky steps in what she hoped was the right direction. However, she didn't know where she was going, so direction didn't really matter. Moss and dead leaves yielded to her feet and she continued through the dark.

Before long a mist seemed to rise from the ground, covering everything with its moisture. Now cold, wet, and lost Kari sat down with her back against a large tree. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, trying desperately to cease her trembling. Kari didn't understand why, but she felt like crying. It wasn't as if being mysteriously transported to strange places was unusual for her, but there was something her that unnerved her, something unmistakably evil.

She ignored this thought, blaming it on her paranoia. Her frustration she was more than willing to blame on the stress of the last week. Quickly she tried to block out this thought as well, but his face stayed imprinted against the backs of her eyelids. Thinking about him made the tears build up, and she let them fall reluctantly.

Losing track of time, she sat by that tree far longer than she had meant to. Rising to her feet, she wiped away her tears and continued on her trek. She had not gone far when she felt the same uneasy feeling creep back to her. It was the silence, she decided some time later. The tomblike silence was what was disturbing her. Kari did not know for how long she had been walking in this manner, but it was odd to her that she had not encountered any of the digiworld's inhabitants.

As soon as this thought passed through her mind, she felt a curiously familiar wave of darkness sweep over her. All she felt was cold, pure, naked hatred, and it sent her to the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

Earlier that week, Kari's classmates had become obsessed over their school dance taking place this Saturday night. Yolei found Kari in the hallway on Wednesday and ran up to her, chatting ceaselessly about her and Ken's plans for the dance. It hadn't been a shock when he asked her, in fact, Yolei was probably the only one who was surprised (even though Kari suspected that she had already known as well).

"So Kari," Yolei began mischievously, after she finally stopped for a breath, "have you decided on who you're going to go with yet?" she asked, very casually for this important a question.

"Decided on? Like I could just pick any random guy in the school and he would want to go with me?" said Kari sarcastically.

"Well, actually Kari, you probably could," said Yolei. "Just look at how many guys have already asked you. Hey, I know! You could try and set a world record! What's the current status on how many times you've been asked?"

"Uh…well…if you really think I could set a record," Kari laughed with Yolei, "I've been asked thirty-nine times by twenty-five different guys. The difference comes from Davis- he's asked me twelve times," she recited disinterestedly.

"You've turned down twenty-five guys? What was wrong with them?" Kari had to admit that Yolei looked kind of shocked.

"Yolei there was nothing wrong with them…" Kari tried to say but was cut off.

Yolei smiled her impish grin again and said, "Oh, I think I know what's going on. You haven't said yes because you've got your eye on someone in particular."

Yolei took Kari's flushed face as a confirmation and quickly added, "Kari! That's so great! Who's the lucky guy?"

"Yolei," Kari looked suddenly serious and pulled her into an empty doorway. "Yolei please don't say anything about this to anyone, okay?"

"But Kari, as soon as you have a date people will start leaving you alone about it. Just ask him, you have like a ninety-nine percent chance that he'll say yes."

"I can't Yolei, you don't understand. It's complicated."

Yolei arched her eyebrows, "Alright Kari," she said, "I won't say anything, but I'm not making any promises."

"Yolei!" began Kari, but she intruded before Kari could say anything more.

"Geez Kari, I'm just kidding, I won't say anything. That is, as long as your 'mystery man' isn't Ken."

Kari laughed and they walked on to their next class.

All day Kari felt uneasy as she watched Yolei, who sat in front of her in class, stare off into space. Kari knew that she was filing through her amazing knowledge of all the single guys in school; trying to figure out which one Kari had a crush on.

Yolei kept her word and made it to lunch without bringing up the "mystery man" subject. They sat across from each other, Yolei once again talking mindlessly about her and Ken's plans for Saturday, when Davis and T.K. approached, carrying their lunch on plastic trays. T.K. looked like he was holding back laughter, and one look at Davis explained it all. Davis slammed his tray down next to Kari, grabbed a fistful of napkins, and began viciously scrubbing the remains of food from his soccer jersey. While T.K. was politely keeping down peals of laughter, Yolei could not contain it. And after Yolei let go, Kari and T.K. had no choice but to laugh with her.

"Guys!" yelled Davis, "I have a game today! I can't play with a stained jersey!"

"Chill out Davis, my uncle sells cleaning products and he gives me free samples," said Yolei. She handed him a brightly colored cloth which he immediately swiped from Yolei, tossing the napkins in Kari's direction.

"Oh thanks Davis, we always wanted your dirty napkins," T.K. said sarcastically. Kari giggled and Davis fixed his attention back on Kari.

"I'm sorry Kari," he said as he gathered up the stray napkins, "which reminds me; I know that you don't have a date yet for the dance so how about I pick you up at six?"

"Davis, I'm sorry," replied Kari, "but I'm not going to the dance with you."

Yolei laughed very mockingly, "I guess that makes thirteen for Davis, thirteen rejections for Davis."

"Wow, thirteen," said T.K., "But I bet it'll take twenty-seven before he gets the hint."

"Hey, this is none of your business T.C., but at least I'm brave enough to ask someone."

"You really haven't asked anyone?" said Yolei, immediately concerned. "But I'm sure there's lots of girls who want you to ask them, right?"

"I…uh…well, yeah, I guess I've been asked, but…uh…I'm not so sure that I'm going to go yet," T.K. stammered. Yolei watched him intently and didn't miss his eyes flicker across the table to Kari, who was being unusually quiet. Davis brought up his upcoming game, but Yolei was watching Kari, who had her head bent low over her tray, eating faster than Davis, which was saying something. Suddenly, it clicked for Yolei, who gasped causing Kari to incline her head enough to shoot her a waning glare.

Kari's glare, however, didn't stop Yolei from tracking her down in the hallway before her last class and dragging her into the computer lab.

"Kari we need to talk," Yolei stated.

"In the lab?" asked Kari curiously.

"Yeah, whatever, I just didn't think that you wanted anyone to hear what we're talking about."

"I'm sorry Yolei, but what are we talking about?"

"It's T.K.!" she exclaimed.

"What's T.K.?"

"Oh don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about," she said, pointing her finger in Kari's face. "I know that he's the one you want to go with, so why don't you ask him?"

"Because…I don't know, there's a lot of reasons I guess," said Kari, staring down at the shining linoleum.

"Well, let's hear them. I've got time," said Yolei as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"But Yolei, class starts in five minutes," but her fierce look made her keep going, "well, for one, T.K. and I have always been friends and I don't want to mess that up. Secondly, well…you heard what he said at lunch- he doesn't even know if he's going on Saturday."

"I've told you already Kari, I promise he'll want to go with you, you have like a ninety-nine percent-"

"chance that he'll say yes," finished Kari, "But Yolei you're wrong this time. So what if I'm popular, or a cheerleader, or attractive. None of that stuff matters to T.K." Yolei could see tears beginning to form in Kari's eyes, a very rare sight.

"Kari don't worry about it, the only things that matter to T.K. are the things that you have. That may not have made much sense, but trust me on this one: you two are perfect for each other."

Kari wiped her eyes and they took off running for their last class to get there before the bell rang.

Little did Kari know, however, that she wasn't the only one Yolei had been sneaking conversations with. Later that day, Yolei caught up with T.K. after basketball practice.

"Hey Yolei," he said as she raced up to him. "Were you at the soccer game? How'd it go?"

"Oh, it's not over yet, and Davis's team is winning by five. But hey, I really wanted to talk to you."

"Oh, okay, that's cool, but do you mind if we walk while we talk, I have to get home."

"Yeah sure, it's no problem. Look T.K., it's about Kari. I'm worried about her."

T.K. stopped walking, a serious expression on his handsome face, "What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"I'm not sure…" Yolei began, "it's just…I don't know if you've noticed, but she's been acting very strange lately."

T.K thought for a second and then said, "Well, now that you mention it, she has been a little quiet lately, but I didn't think it was anything major."

"Yeah, but besides that, I think this whole dance thing has really gotten to her," said Yolei.

T.K. looked sort of confused, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"She told me today that she's had about thirty-some different guys ask her to the dance and she's said no to every one of them."

This time T.K. smiled, "Yolei, I don't think that's a problem, maybe she just doesn't want to go."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," said Yolei, "but still, it seems so unlike her. Back to my point, Kari is a very unique person, yet I've always kind of pitied her. Davis is constantly hanging on her and she's always to good to tell him to back off or to leave her alone. And I guess she has been polite in her rejections but it still seems very un-Kari-ish."

She waited for T.K. to say something and when he didn't she carried on, changing the subject, "so you're really not going to the dance?"

"I haven't decided," he answered.

"Well I guess that means that you haven't asked Kari to go with you yet?"

"What do you mean by 'yet'? Or had you assumed that I was already one of the thirty-some guys that's been rejected?"

"So you haven't asked her?"

"No, Yolei, I haven't," he replied, obviously getting aggravated with this conversation.

"Good," she said. "You see, today I came to a conclusion about Kari's behavior and I knew I had to tell you before anyone. What I think is this- the reason that Kari is rejecting so many guys is because the one that she wants to ask her hasn't decided if he wants to go to the dance yet."

With that she turned around and started walking back in the direction they had come. T.K. was still standing where she had left him when she yelled, "Think about what I've said!" before turning the corner.


	5. Chapter 5

Still in flashback of Thursday…

Kari and Gatomon were walking home from Davis's soccer game when Kari's digivice began to emit beeping noices. The pair stopped in their tracks and exchanged glances- it could only mean problems in the digiworld.

"What do you think Gatomon? Are you up to it tonight?" Kari asked Gatomon.

"I hope you're just kidding, come on, let's go!" she replied enthusiastically. Gatomon leaped into Kari's arms and they rushed back to the school they had just left.

Minutes later, the two rushed into the school's computer lab where Davis, Veemon, Cody, and Armadillomon were already standing. Cody was logging onto the computer, preparing to open a portal into the digital world when Davis said, still in his lightly stained soccer jersey, "Great Kari's here, now we can go."

"We should wait a little bit longer for Ken, Yolei, and T.K.," said Cody, in his always calm voice.

"I say we go now and if they got the message then they can meet up with us later," said a typically impatient Davis.

"Whatever Davis, let's just go before we're too late," Gatomon said, rolling her eyes.

"Alright," said Cody, "I guess Gatomon's right, I don't know if we can wait any longer. Here we go…" He held his D3 up to the computer screen and a flash of bright light engulfed the six of them.

Their landing in the digiworld wasn't as smooth as normal being that they emerged directly on top of where Yolei, Hawkmon, Ken, Wormmon, T.K., and Patamon were standing. The five kids and their digimon fell in a surprised heap on the ground, and it took them several minutes to work themselves free of each other.

"Geez, what took you guys so long," said Patamon sarcastically.

"We had to wait for Kari," said Davis, pretending to be annoyed.

"Anyways," interrupted Yolei, "we've got work to do. The D3s went off so that must mean that there's a disturbance somewhere around here. So let's split up into groups of two and see if we can find out what's going on."

"Yolei that won't work," said Ken, "what happens if whatever is making the disturbance takes more than two people to deal with?"

"Ken, it'll work, trust me," said Yolei, rather threateningly. "When one group finds the problem, they can either take care of it or run and find the rest of us." The other five looked at each other skeptically, but none were feeling brave enough to argue with Yolei. "Okay," Yolei continued, "T.K. and Kari go that way," she pointed off the left, "Davis and Cody go that way," she pointed at 120, "and Ken and I will go that way," as she pointed 120 in the other direction.

Davis looked thoroughly annoyed but Cody gripped his arm and led him off into the forest. Yolei smiled sweetly at Ken and they too went off in their assigned direction. T.K. turned to look at Kari and saw that Patamon, Gatomon, and her were already heading into the trees.

"Hey! Wait up!" he yelled as he ran to catch up to them.

"Sorry T.K.," Kari said as he reached her. "Now let's get going." They walked for a while in silence, Gatomon leaping through the shrubbery ahead of them, Patamon flying overhead.

Kari eventually turned to T.K., "I hope Yolei's right," she said, "I mean, if this turns out to be something too dangerous then we're going to need the other's help and you never really know with the digital world." She knew she was babbling and blushed.

T.K. felt suddenly awkward, his conversation with Yolei replaying over and over in his mind. He knew he should say something, but he was suddenly unsure of what to say, although he couldn't remember ever having this problem around Kari before. In desperation he said the first thing that was on his mind, "So…umm…Yolei and I had an interesting conversation today."

Kari tensed, "Oh…really…what about?"

"Well, she's worried about you. She says that you've been acting a little unusually." T.K. paused for Kari's reply to this, but she appeared to be thinking about something else. Eager for her attention he went on, "so is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine T.K. A little annoyed with Yolei, but not entirely surprised. She didn't say anything else did she?"

Kari noticed that he looked sort of uncomfortable now but he said, "Well, she thinks that the reason you've been out of it has something to do with the dance."

Suddenly Kari felt unbelievably angry with Yolei, "she said that?" she asked T.K.

"Yeah," he replied. Whatever discomfort he had been feeling earlier was now magnified as Kari stopped walking and refused to meet his eye. "It's no big deal, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, I know it's none of my business."

Kari didn't look at him, just turned and walked away to where Gatomon and Patamon were waiting for them.

"Kari wait!" T.K. yelled after her. "I didn't mean to upset you, I just…" he gave up.

"Don't worry about it T.K. I'm not upset; I just didn't realize that I've been acting unusually. I'm sorry if I worried you like I did Yolei."

T.K. nodded in response, as it was about all that he could manage through his confusion and uneasiness. They continued walking, their purpose for being in the digiworld forgotten.

"So, Kari," T.K. said after a while, "to change the subject. I think I'm going to go to the dance on Saturday."

"Oh, that's great I'm sure you'll have fun," Kari said almost disinterestedly.

"Yeah, I was wondering…I know it's a little bit late, but….did you want to go with me…to the dance…this Saturday?"

"She told you to ask me didn't she? Or did she threaten?"

"Uh…" T.K. stammered, noticing the very Yolei-like look in her face, "you mean Yolei? Well…she kind of hinted…but she didn't threaten me if that's what you mean…"

"I knew it! Look T.K., don't worry about it. I don't know what she told you, but Yolei…"

T.K. didn't know what she was going to say about Yolei because at that moment Davis and Cody appeared ahead of them.

"It's getting late, we should probably be heading back now. Obviously whatever was making a disturbance is long gone now," said Davis.

"Yeah, and Davis really needs a shower," said Cody, as Kari and T.K. laughed.

They waited shortly for Yolei and Ken to return before opening the portal back home. Before they knew it they were back in the dark computer lab. Quietly, the snuck out of the school and made their way home. T.K. tried to catch up to Kari and Yolei, but they were too far ahead of him.

Silently he watched as Yolei turned into her apartment building and Kari waved goodnight to her. This was his chance to apologize to her, he knew, but he couldn't make his legs move faster. So, sadly, he watched as she and Gatomon kept walking into the night.

T.K. tried, but he couldn't fall asleep. Every time he felt sleep close in he regretted his conversation with Kari once more and thought about the billions of other things he could have said to her instead. Just as he finally managed to keep his unruly thoughts at bay, Gatomon burst into his room shouting his name, pulling him out of the slight state of sleep he had reached.


	6. Chapter 6

Through the darkness Kari heard a voice- a distantly familiar voice. Though the chill had now completely gripped her, she still recognized the digital monster instantaneously. Kari shivered as LadyDevimon's face appeared before her, a presence that still haunted Kari's nightmares. Years ago, Angewomon had fought her and only barely survived with MegaKabuterimon's help.

Lady Devimon laughed a wicked, throaty laugh, and Kari felt binding cords creep around her, constricting her arms and legs. She flinched involuntarily when the touched her, causing LadyDevimon's insane laughter to reach a level of hysteria.

"Not quite as tough without your friends to help you, huh?" she snarled at the girl.

"What do you want with me?" Kari whimpered, trying unsuccessfully to appear stronger than she felt.

LadyDevimon's sense of humor vanished abruptly. "It took me a while, but I'm back, with improvements, and I want my revenge. Starting with you." She hooked one of her talon like fingers underneath Kari's restraints and hoisted the girl into the air.

"This is your revenge?" Kari said as she gathered whatever courage she had left. "Don't you know that hurting me won't prove anything? You're still afraid of our power, so afraid that you have to attack me while I'm defenseless. Angewomon could beat you any day."

Kari could feel her aggravation growing. With a jerk of her hand she flung Kari back onto the ground. "Maybe you don't remember correctly," she growled, "but when I fought Angewomon, I was clearly the victor. If it hadn't been for MegaKabuterimon she would have been destroyed. I think I will have to prove my strength to you now, to help you remember, of course."

She raised her arms to attack, and Kari flinched, curling herself into a ball. LadyDevimon opened her mouth to initiate strike, but another voice rose out of the darkness.

"LadyDevimon, that is enough. Remember your instructions; you are not to touch the girl," the voice said. Still bent in a frail position, Kari struggled to make out the owner of the voice. It was deep, definitely masculine, and completely unfamiliar to her.

Out of the shadows stepped a figure almost identical to LadyDevimon. He stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kari Kamiya," he said slowly, "it is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you. I doubt your boyfriend has told you much about me, but I'm the one and only Devimon."

Kari's brain was moving sluggishly as she searched through the files of memories for anything to do with Devimon. When he said her boyfriend, Kari assumed that he meant T.K., and then remembered. Devimon was right, T.K. had never talked much about his encounter with Devimon, but Kari knew that it still bothered him. From what the others had mentioned about that day, Kari had learned that Angemon had only defeated Devimon at the cost of his own life. Of course, Angemon had returned as a digiegg, but the incident had been very traumatic for T.K.

"Why did you bring me here?" Kari demanded, her voice cracking slightly.

"Well, the entire truth is a surprise for later," Devimon said mockingly, "we have to wait for your boyfriend to get here first."

"What do you mean? I don't have a boyfriend. No one's coming for me, they probably haven't even realized that I'm gone yet."

"I think the trip must have fried part of her brain," said LadyDevimon to Devimon, "either that or she must just be slow."

"Then I'll try to explain slowly," Devimon said, now looking down at Kari. "When Gatomon discovers that you are missing, who will be the first person that she goes to for help?"

Kari imagined the situation and knew that Gatomon would go to T.K. Devimon saw her realization and continued, "and when the boy, T.K., realized that you are gone he will stop at nothing to find you, will he not?"

Reluctantly, Kari nodded in agreement, remembering the incident from year's back when she had been taken to the Dark Ocean, causing T.K. to completely flip out, holding himself responsible for her safety.

Devimon laughed, "but, of course, as is common in most teenage humans, he most likely will not think before he acts and rush here without the help of his friends, which he will need to survive what we have planned."

"I don't understand," Kari stammered, "why didn't you just pull T.K. here? What do you need me for?"

LadyDevimon rolled her eyes, "because," she said rather snootily, "we couldn't kidnap the boy without making sure that the Patamon came as well. By taking you we knew that both would follow."

No, Kari thought, it can't be, but she knew he was right. She prayed silently that Gatomon had gone to Tai or Yolei instead, knowing that either of them would call the team together to search for her. T.K., however would do exactly as Devimon expected.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hi Mrs. Kamiya, it's T.K."

"Oh, hi, T.K., I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?" T.K. was surprised at how much Kari's mother sounded like her on the phone.

"Well, I've been better. I was just wondering if Kari was around."

"I'm sorry T.K., but she must have gotten off to school early today. I can never keep track of her cheer leading practices."

"Oh, okay then, thanks anyway."

He was about to hang up when Mrs. Kamiya went on, "You guys were out pretty late last night, do you think you're going to have to go back to 'you-know-where' tonight?"

T.K. really hoped not but he said, "most likely," covering for Kari, in case he couldn't find her today.

"Oh, well if you see Kari tell her to be careful. It would really be awful if she got hurt the day before the big dance. Speaking of which, I haven't had a chance to talk to her about the dance because she's been so busy lately. I was wondering if you and Kari were going together…"

"Well…I'm not really sure…"

Mrs. Kamiya laughed, "how can you not be sure? Did you ask her?"

"Oh, I asked her, but…uh…her answer wasn't exactly clear. That's why I called, so I could talk to her about it," T.K. improvised.

Kari's mother laughed again, "I wouldn't worry about it too much T.K., you're Kari's best friend and we all now how much she loves you."

T.K. felt suddenly uncomfortable, "well it was nice talking to you Mrs. Kamiya, but I have to get going now, bye!"

"Bye T.K. You be careful to now."

T.K. hung up the phone, shaking slightly, and more determined than ever to find Kari. He knew he wasn't going to bother going to school today, but he rushed through his morning routine so as not to worry his mother.

Patamon and Gatomon climbed into his backpack and zipped it halfway closed. He slung the bag onto his shoulder and headed down the hall. Mrs. Takeishi was standing in the kitchen holding a glass of orange juice for him. He took the glass with a word of thanks, and drained the cup in one drink. Kissing his mother on the cheek he headed for the door. As he was leaving she reminded him that she was heading to Kyoto for the day and that she would be back tomorrow before the dance to see him off. T.K. told her to have a nice trip and headed to the elevator.

He hung back in the doorway for a few minutes until he saw Yolei and Cody leave the building. He knew that he might wish for their help later but he didn't want them to be involved in something that could be potentially dangerous.

Instead of taking his normal route to school he headed towards the university where he easily spotted Izzy on his laptop computer in a comfy chair in the library.

"Izzy!" T.K. said a little too loudly, forgetting momentarily which type of building he was in, and causing Izzy to jump slightly in his chair. "I need your help."

"T.K.?" asked a befuddled Izzy, "shouldn't you be in school?"

"There's no time for that now Izzy, it's an emergency."

"What's going on? I'd love to help, but I have to be somewhere in less then twenty minutes," said Izzy, although obviously concerned.

"Kari's disappeared. I think she might be in the digital world and I need you to help me find her," he recited desperately. Behind him Patamon and Gatomon poked their heads out of T.K.'s backpack, nodding in agreement with him.

"Are you sure she didn't just go there to be alone for a while? I talked to Yolei and Ken online last night and they suspected that you and Kari were in an argument."

"Izzy!" interrupted Gatomon, "I saw her vanish!"

"And Izzy, can you think of any situation where Kari would go to the digiworld alone, without Gatomon or her digivice?" T.K. added, raising Kari's D3.

"In that case," said Izzy as he turned back to his computer, "I have to agree with you. It's very possible that Kari could be in some sort of danger."

T.K. watched as Izzy clicked open several different files and entered some information on his keyboard. Suddenly, a map of the digital world filled the screen, and when T.K. held Kari's digivice up to it, a blinking pink dot materialized off to the left.

"That's odd," Izzy commented, "Kari is in the same area where the disturbance that you guys checked out last night occurred. The very same disturbance that you couldn't find any trace of. This is more than just a coincidence, I think you better hurry."

"Thanks Izzy," T.K. said while setting his backpack down so that Patamon and Gatomon could climb out and follow him through the portal to the digirworld.

"You three go on ahead and find Kari. When you find her get out of there. While you're gone I'll send out a message to everyone so we can go together and fight this thing. If you don't find her then look for us, okay?"

"Izzy, that's crazy," interjected T.K., "you said yourself that you have to be somewhere in ten minutes. I'm sure we can handle this, so it's probably better for everyone if you guys don't get involved this time. Besides, I don't think Davis can afford to miss a day of school."

"My conscience is telling me to keep you from doing this, but I really have to go. I'll keep checking up on you and if I can't get a hold of you then I'm calling Tai, and you know how serious Tai will take this."

"Okay Izzy, it's a deal. Thanks for everything," said T.K. as he held his D3 up to the computer screen. Izzy shut his eyes against the blinding light his computer screen was emitting and when it was gone, so were T.K., Patamon, and Gatomon.


	8. Chapter 8

Kari sighed and leaned back against the tree trunk behind her. Her body felt numb. She knew that her aches and bruises should be paining her, yet she felt nothing. What she did feel was the darkness pulling her away, the evil radiating from Devimon and LadyDevimon slowly draining her life force.

To pass the time she thought of her friends and how each one would react in this situation. Thinking about Mimi made her smile despite her tragedy. She could easily picture Mimi shrieking at Devimon to let her go, but only after insulting his fashion sense. Mimi was the perfect picture of a damsel in distress. However, knowing that Gatomon and T.K. were probably trying to rescue her made her feel somewhat like a damsel in distress, and Kari despised the notion. Deep inside, though, Kari knew that she couldn't escape alone, the bindings around her serving as a constant reminder.

The more time that passed, the more difficult it became for her to focus her thoughts. Once again she attempted to concentrate on her friend's faces. The darkness made her think of Ken and his period as the Digimon Emperor, though Kari had long since forgiven Ken of his crimes. Then Kari remembered how much fun she had had with Yolei while Yolei had dragged him into a world that involved more than just soccer and schoolwork.

Suddenly her contentment slipped away. Thinking of Yolei and Ken together made her regret the mean things she had said to T.K. the other day. What was wrong with her? Hadn't she wanted to go to the dance with him? Kari let all of the thoughts she had been pushing away flood back to her; now was as good a time as any to think things through. T.K. was her best friend, but secretly she had wanted to be more than friends for a long time. Every time Yolei gushed about how much fun kissing boys could be, Kari always wondered what it would feel like if T.K. kissed her. And every time he would brush against her accidentally Kari couldn't help but question how it would feel if he touched her deliberately.

Kari hated herself for indulging in these small fantasies; her relationship with T.K. had been ideal before the whole dance situation had appeared. What was she supposed to do now? Apologize and lie to him that she didn't really want to go to the dance with him? Or go with him as friends and forever keeping the tension between them? The situation could only become more awkward. Suddenly she wondered what she would do if he ever wanted to confide in her that he liked another girl?

A cold breeze then jerked Kari from her thoughts and back to reality. Everything was silent, which unnerved her more than anything. The tree that she was leaning against was situated at the edge of a small clearing littered with debris and rubble from the ruins of an old building. At her angle she had a clear view of Devimon and LadyDevimon standing in the shadows of a crumbled wall. Only when she looked towards the wall, they were gone, and Kari immediately sensed that things were not right. Devimon and LadyDevimon seemed to have disappeared, yet the enormous presence of evil lingering her engulfed her.

A rustle in the foliage behind her tree interrupted her apprehensions.

"Come on you two, hurry up before they come back!" a familiar voice whispered.

"Gatomon?" Kari asked, hardly daring to believe that her friend was there. "You've got to get out of here," she continued as she recalled Devimon's plans, "it's a trap!"

"Right, but we can't leave without you," said another familiar voice, this one causing her heart to flutter in her chest. Gatomon began using her claws to hack away at Kari's bindings, and T.K. knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked, scanning her body for any outward signs of injury.

"I'll be fine," Kari answered, "but you have to leave now. They knew you were coming." With a snap Gatomon finished cutting though the last cord. T.K. rose to his feet, grabbed Kari's wrist and hoisted her up beside him.

Kari's stiff muscles protested with the sudden movement but then began to tremble involuntarily.

"They're coming…I can feel it…"Kari stammered as the evil inundated her once again. T.K. gripped her arm to steady her as he pulled free his D3 and called out, "Digi-port open!"

But nothing happened.

From behind them a sinister voice let out a truly evil laugh. "I am pleased to see that you are the same foolish boy that you once were." T.K. paled as Devimon and LadyDevimon reappeared behind the wall and began to move towards them.

"And what a silly little boy he is," LadyDevimon added. "He walked right into our trap, even after he was warned."

LadyDevimon turned to face Kari and the darkness suddenly overpowered the girl. Kari fell to her knees, holding her head between her hands as Gatomon leapt towards her.

"What is this?" Kari winced, "some sort of new attack?"

"No," Gatomon replied, "It's this place. We're standing in the ruins of Myotismon's castle."

LadyDevimon turned back around to face Devimon, "You know what I always say: if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen."

Devimon nodded to her, "and since she can't leave, we'll have to destroy her first!"

"No!" T.K. shouted, but it was no use. Devimon lunged forward and scooped Kari into his claw like hand. Kari cried out as he touched her and T.K. nodded at Patamon, who was already prepared to digivolve.

"Patamon digivolve to…" there was a flash of light and in the flying rookie-level digimon's place stood the majestic, "Angemon!"

Angemon raised his golden staff to begin his attack, but Gatomon shouted above his deep voice. "Kari! Myotismon is gone for good, the evil here has no power over you!"

"Be strong Kari!" T.K. shouted and Kari lifted her innocent brown eyes to meet Devimon's glowering red ones.

Devimon's fist tightened around her in a potentially fatal squeeze. He broke his gaze with Kari to see as to why Angemon had not yet attacked, when he realized that he could not see. His vision could only decipher Kari, still clutched in his hand, and now embedded within a pink cloud of light so bright that it was blinding him. Too late he discovered that her light was not only blinding but also damaging, working its way through his being and tearing him apart.

With a howling scream he flung Kari away from him. Luckily, however, Angemon was able to catch her in his arms as Devimon's entire body became encased in the pink light. He screamed once more and then disappeared with a slight pop.


	9. Chapter 9

The light from Kari intensified after Devimon's destuction, a pink beam where the monster had been standing moments before. LadyDevimon shrank back from it and into the shadows. Luckily, Angemon spotted her in his peripheral vision and quickly set Kari on her feet before darting after her, his staff raised in attack. It did not take much from Angemon to eliminate her, for the light had already weakened her greatly.

T.K. faced Gatomon, "is this Kari's light?"

"Yes," Gatomon answered, "who would have thought that it could fight evil as well as free Numemon?" T.K. would have laughed at her sarcasm but his attention was fixed on Kari. The teenage girl was standing upright where Angemon had left her, yet her eyes were closed, as if in sleep or some sort of meditation.

T.K. looked up to Angemon returning to their side of the clearing. Suddenly the world darkened as Kari's light faded and her eyes opened. She looked upwards, as if knowing what would occur next. Angemon was flying directly above the center of the clearing when a blast of energy flew out of nowhere straight towards him.

"Angemon, look out!" T.K. yelled, but the anonymous attack hit him directly, causing him to stumble out of the sky, returning to his rookie state as he fell. T.K. ran forward with his arms outstretched and managed to catch Patamon before he hit the ground. T.K. was pulling out his digivice to reattempt opening the portal home when a looming figure appeared before him. The figure yet another presence from T.K.'s nightmares, a monster in a huge green waistcoat, a face half black and half white, and two swords strapped across his back.

"So it's you," Kari said from somewhere behind T.K., "you brought back Devimon and LadyDevimon."

"Guilty," said the former dark master, Piedmon. "And I knew that you would follow her here to rescue her heroically without your friends."

"So this is some kind of revenge?" T.K. asked, a fierce, determined look set in his face.

"Oh, no," said Piedmon, grinning at T.K. and Kari's defenselessness. "This is an entire new plot to conquer the digital world. I'm just going to make sure that you two can't interfere this time around."

Piedmon raised his arms to attack the two young people but T.K. turned towards Kari and in one swift motion threw her D3 across the field where she snatched it out of the air. A second later Angewomon leapt into action above the clearing.

"This is going to be too easy," Piedmon laughed as he performed his infamous Clown Trick attack and a huge blast of water flew towards Angewomon, forcing her to fall to the ground. Once Angewomon was distracted, Piedmon pulled one of his swords free of its sheath and moved towards Kari.

"Trump Sword!" Piedmon called out as he lunged at her. T.K. saw what he was planning and ran at them. In one leap, he dived in front of the attack, pushing Kari out of the way.

Kari watched in horror as Piedmon's sword struck T.K. in his lower ribs. "No!" she shouted at the same time that Angewomon released one of her Celestial Arrows into Piedmon's back. The arrow would not destroy him, but did weaken him enough to back away. As he stumbled backwards, Kari lifted T.K. into his arms. The sword had fallen away but the wound was deep, and bleeding pretty badly.

She pulled out her digivice and shouted "Digi-Port open!" and thankfully the typically glowing light of the portal engulfed T.K., Kari, and Patamon. Moments later the three were back in the real world and away from Piedmon.

"Where are we?" Gatomon asked after she followed them through the portal and emerged from the desktop computer behind them.

"This is T.K.'s room," Patamon replied, "I wonder how we ended up here. This isn't were we went in the digital world at…"

"It doesn't matter," Kari interjected. She looked down at an unconscious T.K. who was lying on the floor in front of them, the sword wound in his torso quickly soaking his shirt in blood. "He needs help. Patamon go get some wet towels, or bandages, or anything we can use to stop the bleeding. Gatomon call an ambulance."

Patamon rushed to follow her instructions, but Gatomon looked at her quizzically and asked, "Kari how are you supposed to explain what happened? Or better yet, where you've been all day?"

"I'll make something up, or just tell them the truth. It doesn't matter if they believe me or not as long as they save T.K.!" Kari retorted.

Gatomon was still arguing with Kari over what they should do when Patamon returned with a heap of linen. He dumped the pile beside T.K. and watched as Kari grabbed a towel and began using it to apply pressure to his wound.

"Gatomon we need help," Kari whispered, struggling to hold back tears, "call Joe, or Sora, or Cody, or someone who would know what to do."

Gatomon turned and left the room in search of T.K.'s phone when Patamon asked Kari quietly, "is he going to die?"

After a moment Kari responded with, "I don't know Patamon." She studied T.K., carefully measuring the slight and shaky rise and fall of his chest. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow above his beautiful face. The enormity of losing him suddenly hit her like a tidal wave, and the tears she had been holding back fell involuntarily. There were so many things she still hadn't told him, now might never get the chance to. He was her best friend, her protector, and one of the only people she had ever really loved. She just cared too much about him to let him die.

Silently she leaned over his still body and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. As they touched a faint glow materialized around the two of them. Kari pulled her head away from him but still sat sort of hunched over him and she placed her hands on his injury without hesitation. The light grew brighter around her hands and her eyes closed in concentration. When she eventually retracted her hands from him, Kari's hands were blood covered, but T.K.'s wound had stopped bleeding and it seemed to have closed up.

Patamon stared openmouthed at the spectacle, as did Gatomon who had watched from the doorway. In fact all three were astonished, and then even more amazed when the pulled T.K's shirt off and rinsed away the blood to find not a mark or scratch on his smooth skin.


	10. Chapter 10

"Wow," said Gatomon in amazement, "that was incredible. Kari think of all the people you could help with these powers!"

"Gatomon, I don't think I can do it on command, now come on, help me put him in bed." The two digimon each grabbed one of T.K.'s legs while Kari stood behind him and lifted him from under his arms. With a little maneuvering the three of them managed to lay T.K. down on top of his bed.

Kari stepped away from the bed and gazed down at the sleeping boy. His shirt was still lying on the floor, torn and soaked in blood, giving Kari a full view of his smooth, heavily muscled chest. It wasn't the first time that she had seen him without a shirt; after all, they had gone swimming together plenty of times, but now she just couldn't pull her eyes away.

While Kari gazed down at him she noticed her own bloody hands and recalled how badly she needed a shower. T.K.'s alarm clock blinked 10:32, it had been almost two days since Kari had bathed or even changed.

"I hope T.K. doesn't mind if I use his shower," said Kari as she left the bedroom and made her way down the hallway. A few minutes later a steamy shower was running and Kari was just stepping underneath the spray when Gatomon knocked on the door and shouted something that Kari couldn't quite make out. Wrapping a towel around herself, Kari reluctantly backed away from the tub and opened the door for Gatomon.

"Matt's here!" she burst out. "Well, he's at the door, Patamon wouldn't let me let him in, he doesn't want Matt to know that T.K. was hurt."

Kari nodded along, really just thinking about her shower, but she followed Gatomon out of the bathroom and unlocked the apartment door for Matt. It could have been because she was dressed only in a towel, but Matt seemed surprised to see her.

"Is T.K. here?" he asked, a curious expression on his face, "I need to talk to him."

"Uh…," Kari stammered, "he's…uh…he's sleeping."

"Oh," Matt said, with a nod, not really believing Kari's statement, "Is my mom here?"

"She went to Kyoto," Patamon answered, "but she's coming back tomorrow."

"I see. Well I'm here because Izzy called me today, he said that he was worried that you two were in danger and he wanted me to check it out. So I guess you're both okay then…"

"Yeah, we're fine…" Kari answered, listening to the water running in the bathroom.

"Okay then. I'll call T.K. in the morning. See ya later then."

"Okay, see ya," Kari said as she followed Matt towards the door. Then as Matt was walking down the hallway of the apartment building Kari called out, "Hey Matt, would you please not say anything to Tai…about today…please?"

Matt pulled back his hand that was already creeping towards his cell phone to call Tai and smiled at Kari, "No problem," he said and continued towards the stairs.

After Matt left, Kari enjoyed her steamy shower and when she got out was amused to find that Patamon was going to wash her clothes. Until they were done he found one of T.K.'s shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts that she could wear. It was late and Kari knew that her family was probably really worried about her, but she wanted to stay at T.K.'s place until he woke up, just to make sure that he was absolutely all right. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. Had she always had these talents? Why had she never been able to use them before now?

She got dressed and left the bathroom, wandering the apartment searching for the telephone that Gatomon had probably left in some random place after trying to call Joe. Gatomon was curled up in a ball on the couch, fast asleep while Patamon watched over her.

"Patamon," Kari whispered, not wanting to break the silence. "Why didn't you want Matt to know that T.K. was hurt?"

"T.K.'s alright now," Patamon quickly responded. "I just didn't want Matt to freak out or anything." Then he rose into the air and flew down the hallway into T.K.'s room.

Kari sat down on the couch next to Gatomon, trying to work out just what was bothering the little digimon. "He doesn't like that you, and Matt, and Joe, could help T.K. when he couldn't," Gatomon answered, understanding the object of Kari's contemplation. "I think it's one of those male ego things."

The comment made Kari giggle, but before she could reply, Gatomon was already falling back asleep. With no one left to talk to, and no sign of the telephone, Kari left the couch and headed back towards T.K.'s room. Patamon was resting on the edge of the bed, near T.K.'s feet, staring aimlessly above the sleeping boy's head.

Kari approached the two silently, sitting down on the floor beside the bed. "I'm sorry if I upset you Patamon; and I wanted to say thank you. It was very brave of you and T.K. to come and rescue me today. Not many digimon would have dared to take on Devimon and LadyDevimon alone."

Patamon's face lit up at the praise, his confidence once again restored. "You really think so?"

"I know so," Kari said, giving him a hug. He blushed as he pulled away from her embrace and flew to his makeshift bed on T.K.'s desk.

"I think I'm going to go to sleep now to," he said. "You can sleep in here if you want, I'm sure T.K. won't mind. Or you can sleep on the couch with Gatomon, T.K.'s mom keeps extra blankets in the hall closet."

"Thanks Patamon, good night," Kari said, noticing that his eyes were already closing.

"Good night Kari," he managed to say before he too fell into sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

T.K. woke up with a warm, fuzzy feeling in his stomach, partly due to the fact that Kari's light had healed the fatal wound only hours ago, and partly because when he looked down he noticed a familiar brown head resting on his bare chest. Kari was lying beside him in his bed with her head just below his shoulder and her left arm wrapped around his torso.

The shock of waking up like this with her was quickly pushed aside he studied her face while she slept. The light streaming through his windows led him to believe that it was morning, Saturday morning, the day of the dance. He thought about how he had failed at asking Kari to go with him.

Suddenly he felt very uncomfortable being this close to her, remembering how irritated she had been with him. But then he thought of all that had happened since then. Seeing her once again struggling against Devimon's fist in his mind caused him to wrap his arms around her lithe body. He didn't hold her too tight, but it would be a while before he would let her go.

Sensing the change in him, Kari stirred in his arms before opening her eyes. Instinctively, she stretched out her limbs before she came to the realization that she was not alone in the bed. With a jolt, her head snapped up to look him in the eyes.

T.K. didn't wait to start his apologies, but Kari cut him off. She smiled one of her heart wrenching, earth shattering smiles at him and his heart melted. "Good morning," she said softly, trying to hold back a laugh at his hair, which was sticking out at odd angles. She sat up and made to climb out of the bed, but when the cold air of the room hit her, she thought better of it and curled back up with him under his blankets.

They lay there like that for a long while, unsure how long exactly because they both lost track of time. They were silent, but not awkwardly so, not needing to say anything. Kari was the one to finally interrupt the peace.

"T.K.?" she half whispered, thinking he might have fallen back asleep.

"Hmm?" he responded, in a barely audible hum.

She rolled over onto her side and propped herself with her elbow so that she was facing him. Slowly her eyes traveled from his face down his chest and below to his rib cage. T.K. blushed, acutely aware that he was half naked. Kari placed her hand on the smooth skin of his chest where just hours ago the gaping sword wound had been.

She stared at her hand for a moment, a distracted look on her face. T.K. didn't understand what she was doing at first, but her touch brought back the memory. He remembered watching the sword strike him, before he passed out. The funny thing was, he couldn't remember any sense of the wound ever paining him.

Kari looked back into his clear, blue eyes. "Does it hurt?" she asked, gently and most obviously concerned for him.

"No," T.K. realized that there was not only no memory of pain, but also no lingering stiffness or tenderness at all. He did feel a little queasy inside, but he figured that was just because the girl he had been in love with for years was wearing his underwear and practically sitting on top of him in his bed while he was half naked. T.K. could feel his blood rising to his face as these new thoughts broke through. His eyes met Kari's once again and he could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

All of T.K.'s grogginess vanished immediately as he sat up in the bed beside her. "What's wrong?" he asked, wondering just what had happened after he passed out. Almost unconsciously, his arms slipped around her and pulled her to him. She didn't resist, as he half expected she would, but instead returned his embrace.

"You were dying…" she whispered into his neck, "I didn't know what to do…." Understanding flooded into T.K. and he held her a little tighter. "I don't ever want to be mad at you again."

"Me either, Kari," T.K. responded as he sort of pulled her away from him; at least enough so that he could kiss her. When their lips met the world stopped. T.K. felt her light inside of him and he knew that she had saved him. It didn't really matter to him though; she was the only thing important to him at the moment.

Kari had been a little surprised when T.K. kissed her, but recovered quickly from her shock and was soon returning his kiss with just as much passion. He deepened the kiss as her hands disheveled his already disarrayed hair. It was then Kari realized that whatever she had been telling herself about being only friends with T.K. was completely out the window. She knew then that she loved him. Had always loved him. She wanted to tell him how she felt but she didn't want him to stop kissing her.

With her arms around his neck she laid back onto the bed, pulling him down with her. He freed her mouth and tilted his head down to kiss her neck. His caressing hands slipped underneath her (really his) shirt, touching the silky skin of her stomach and sides. Their lips were meeting once again when they heard a cough from somewhere in the room beyond them.

"Were they having sex?" Patamon whispered to Gatomon, who rolled her eyes at him.

"No!" she told him, clearly understanding what he did not. "Don't you watch T.V.?"

Kari and T.K. both laughed as the untangled themselves from each other. "Oh," Patamon replied, blushing. "Well does this mean that you two are going to the dance together then?"

"The dance!" Kari exclaimed, "It's Saturday! The dance is tonight!" T.K. and the two stared at the girl as they saw the beginning of a panic attack. "I don't have shoes. I don't have a dress. I don't even have a date!"

It was T.K.'s turn to cough. "Well, not to sound like Davis and repeat myself over and over, but, would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Kari smiled and leaned in towards him, "I would love to go to the dance with you," she said as she kissed him briefly on the lips. T.K. was a little disappointed with such short contact, but as T.K. went to pull her back to him, she jumped out of bed and was racing out of the bedroom.

A moment later she appeared in the doorway, "It's ten o'clock!" she cried, "Yolei's going to kill me! My parents are going to kill me!"

T.K. pulled his cordless telephone out from under his bed and casually handed it to her. "You're parents won't be that upset; I talked to them yesterday. I told your mom that we were going back to the digital world last night, but you should probably call her."

Kari nodded and dialed the phone, "Hi mom," she said a minute later. "Yes I'm alright. I'm sorry for not calling sooner, but I guess I was exhausted last night." T.K. pulled a shirt on as Kari sat down on the bed. "Yeah," she nodded, agreeing with whatever her mother was saying. "Okay, I'll be home in a little while, Yolei and I have appointments at the salon this morning. Okay, bye."

"Kari, maybe this isn't such a good idea…" T.K. said after she hung up.

"What do you mean T.K.?"

"Well, Piedmon's still out there isn't he? How can we just go around like everything's normal while he's terrorizing the digital world? What if he tries to kidnap you again?"

"Here's what I think: Piedmon's stronger than he was last time and it's going to take more than Angemon and Angewomon to defeat him now. I think we should go to the dance tonight and then call everyone together tomorrow and take him down." Kari explained.

T.K. agreed with her, but replied, "And how are we going to keep him from trying to pull you into the digital world?"

"Well…" Kari thought, "I don't know. But if Gatomon stays close to me and I keep my digivice with me, if I do get pulled in, you're digivice will tell you and then you can get everyone and come save me again." She smiled and slid her arms around him.

He returned the hug, but shook his head no, not liking to idea at all. Kari laughed softly, "Would you rather just stay like this?"

"Well, actually…"

"Please T.K.? This is important to Yolei, and I want to be there for her. Come on, I promise you'll have fun."

T.K. gave in, "Alright," he said leaning down and kissing her just as Gatomon and Patamon entered the room. Kari and T.K. broke apart and T.K. looked over at Gatomon, "Don't let her out of your sight," he said to the digimon.

"The same goes for you Patamon," Kari said about T.K., "I don't want to miss the dance because I have to go rescue _you_." They kissed again and it was Kari who pulled away first. "I have to get going. Yolei is going to be so mad at me, I think our appointments were at nine thirty."

"Umm…Kari…" Patamon said, "We have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is…we shrunk you're clothes."

"The good news is," Gatomon interrupted, holding up Kari's pink and white T-shirt, "now I can dress up like you."

The four of them headed towards the front door of the apartment laughing at Gatomon's new wardrobe. Kari looked down at T.K.'s shirt and boxer shorts, "Do you mind if I hold on to these for a little while?"

He laughed but said, "It's no big deal." He opened the door for her and gave her a tender kiss goodbye. "So I'll see you at six?"

"Okay, be careful," she said as she and Gatomon made their way to the stairwell.

"You to," he called out as she continued up the flights of stairs to Yolei's floor.


	12. Chapter 12

After Kari left T.K. took a quick shower and had just poured himself a bowl of cereal when the phone rang. Immediately worrying something might have happened to Kari, he practically sprinted into his room to answer it. Relief flooded through him when he heard Ken's voice on the other line.

"Hey T.K., it's Ken," he said.

"Hey Ken, what's up?"

"Oh I just talked to Yolei and she said that you're taking Kari to the dance tonight."

"Yeah that's right," T.K. answered, not at all surprised with how fast the news had traveled.

"Well," Ken continued, "it was Yolei's idea that you two come with us in the limousine I rented for the night."

"Okay, that sounds cool," T.K. responded.

"Okay, great! I'll come by and pick up you and Yolei around a quarter to six and then we can swing back and get Kari," Ken explained.

"Alright, I'll see you later then."

"Yep. Bye T.K."

T.K. had barely pressed the OFF button before it started ringing again. Hungry and irritated he turned the phone back on and growled a "Hello?"

"Good morning T.K.!" his mother's cheery voice cried out. "I'm sorry if I woke you up. I just wondered what your plans were for today. Did you decide to go to the dance?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go," T.K. responded.

"That's wonderful! Are you taking Kari?" she asked next.

T.K. wondered how everyone seemed to know that he liked Kari but answered, "Yeah. Ken's picking Yolei and me up here at a quarter to six in the limousine he rented and then we're swinging back to get Kari," T.K. quoted.

"Oh, okay. I should be home around four or so, so I'll be there when you leave."

"Okay."

"Did you sleep okay last night? You sound really tired," she noted with her super-keen Mom senses.

"Actually I slept great last night," T.K. said, remembering how amazing it had been to wake up with Kari.

"Oh, well that's good. Maybe you should try and get some more rest before you start getting ready today."

"I'll be okay mom," T.K. grumbled.

"Okay then, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye mom."

"Bye!"

As soon as she hung up T.K. turned back to his cereal, but unfortunately was interrupted once again by a knock on the door. Patamon stretched out on the couch, watching amusedly as T.K. made his way towards the door reluctantly. He opened it wide to see a very solemn looking Matt in the doorway.

"Matt? What are you doing here?" T.K. inquired, surprised to see his brother in his apartment.

"Oh, didn't Kari tell you? I stopped by last night to talk to you and she said that you were asleep, so I told her to tell you that I'd come back in the morning." He stepped into the apartment and eyes kept darting around like he was looking for something. "Kari's not still here is she?" he asked cautiously.

"No," T.K. stated, uncomfortable with the idea of trying to explain everything that had happened between Kari and him last night and this morning.

"Oh, good. Because she kinda has to do with what I wanted to talk to you about." T.K. didn't interrupt so he went on. "Well I just came by last night because Izzy wanted me to check on you two." Matt moved over to sit down on the couch next to Patamon, but T.K. remained standing. "He told me what you told him and, well…I see that you're alright…and Kari seemed fine to me when I talked to her…what I guess I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to rush into anything with Kari."

T.K.'s face turned a bright shade of crimson. "What do you mean? I'm just taking her to a dance…"

Matt interrupted, "T.K. you don't have to hide anything from me. I know what you two were doing last night."

"Matt if you're talking about what I think you're talking about then boy do you have it all wrong. I kissed her and asked her to the dance, but I swear that's all that happened!"

Patamon smiled to himself, remembering Kari answering the door in a towel. He considered setting Matt straight on what had happened but decided that this was more entertaining.

"Okay, but just listen to me," Matt said calmly, "I've had plenty of bad relationships that started too fast. I don't want your relationship with Kari to turn out like most, actually all, of mine do."

Now hungry, and even more annoyed T.K. turned and walked towards the door. He opened it and gestured that he wanted Matt to leave. The older brother held up his hands in submission and exited the apartment.

T.K.'s words to him were, "I love her, Matt. I love her more than I can even begin to explain to you. Thanks for the advice, but the things we do together are really none of your business."

"Okay well, I'll see you at the dance tonight. I don't know if you heard, but your school hired my band to play for you guys tonight."

"That's cool," T.K. commented, leaning against the open door, his bowl of cereal tucked in his free arm. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," Matt said as he left.

"Bye," T.K. returned the call before shutting the door and returning his focus to his bowl of cereal.


	13. Chapter 13

Kari rushed up the stairwell of T.K.'s apartment building, nervously anticipating Yolei's fury. She reached Yolei's floor and practically sprinted down the hallway to her friend's door. Kari had barely raised her arm to knock when the door was jerked open, revealing a very stressed Yolei. Before Kari could say anything, Yolei grabbed her wrist and yanked her inside, slamming the door behind her.

"Where have you been!" Yolei exclaimed. "Do you know how worried I've been? First you and T.K. don't show up to school then I try calling your house but no one answered, then I checked the digivices but you weren't in the digital world. And then when you didn't come this morning I really started to freak out."

Kari shrank back from the taller girl, her purple hair flying out, emphasizing her anger in an intimidating way. Inside her, Kari felt truly guilty for not having contacted Yolei last night. Then remembering what she had done last night, she prayed that she wouldn't have to explain it to Yolei.

But, as if on cue, Yolei looked at her curiously, "Wait a minute…are those T.K.'s clothes? Were you with him all day yesterday? Oh my God Kari, what have you two been doing?"

Kari's stomach dropped, but she told Yolei everything, starting with her and T.K.'s disagreement Thursday night and up to Matt's visit. She included the details about T.K.'s injury and her strange new healing ability, but did not mention the details concerning their sleeping arrangements.

While Kari explained, Yolei led her into her bedroom and the two sat down on the floor, Kari still continuing with her story. When Kari finally cut herself off, Yolei gave her a curious, but not disbelieving look.

"So T.K. came to rescue you," Yolei finally replied, "does this mean that you two are an item?"

Kari sighed. Yolei had a one track mind.

"Well he's taking me to the dance tonight," Kari answered.

"Umm hmm," Yolei nodded, still speculating all of the information Kari had just given her. "Okay, before we leave for my uncle's hair salon, I just want to know why you're wearing T.K.'s boxers."

Kari felt all of the heat rising to her face as she remembered the green and black patterned boxer shorts she was wearing. Yolei smiled at the other girl's discomfort. She pulled out a pair of sweat pants for her to put on and they left the apartment, Kari desperately trying to explain how Patamon had shrunk her clothes.

The two spent a luxurious day lounging in Yolei's uncle's salon. As the two sat for what seemed like hours having their hair curled and put up, Yolei found a great opportunity to inform Kari of all the gossip she had missed out on in school on Friday. Eventually, however, Yolei did manage to turn the conversation back to Kari's new relationship with T.K.

"So what exactly happened last night? I mean, after Matt left? You spent the night there, didn't you?"

"Yolei! Nothing happened," Kari cried, knowing perfectly what Yolei was hinting at.

"Are you sure?" Yolei went on, "There's nothing that you want to share?"

"Well, actually," Kari replied, "there is something I wanted to ask you." Yolei immediately looked interested, if the hair stylist had not been standing behind her curling a chunk of her hair, she would have leaned forward and put her face directly in front of Kari's.

"How exactly did you know that the underwear I was wearing was T.K.'s?" Kari asked, and the two girls erupted into laughter.

"I have my ways," Yolei answered and they settled back into their chairs.

When their hair was finally complete, they headed back to their own homes to finish preparing. Kari walked home slowly, not wanting to jostle her hair. To someone watching her she might appear to be a young girl walking slowly, enjoying the beauty of the sunny Saturday morning, but in actuality, two completely opposite parts of her were conflicting inside.

Part of Kari wanted to dance down the sidewalk, celebrating the brilliant new day and that something new and wonderful was happening between her and T.K. But the other part of Kari held Piedmon's face fixed in his mind, recalled memories of the first time they defeated him, and replayed images of what he would do to the digital world if they didn't stop him soon.

With a heavy heart she followed the familiar path to her apartment. She opened the door to see the same sights that always greeted her when she entered, yet today they seemed more comforting and less monotonous.

She walked past the kitchen and noticed her mother sitting on the couch watching her usual soap operas. However, as soon as she noticed that her daughter had entered, she clicked the television off and stood up to hug the girl.

"Oh Kari," Mrs. Kamiya said as she squeezed her daughter, "it feels like it's been days since I've seen you. I hope you and Yolei had fun. It's so great that you have friends that you can spend days with."

Once again Kari felt guilt curl inside her stomach. Her mother believed that she had spent Friday night with Yolei. By not telling her the truth Kari knew she was lying to her mother by omission, something that Kari had rarely ever done before.

"It feels good to be home mom," Kari replied. "But I really don't have much time. T.K. is coming to pick me up at six for the dance and I still have to pick out a dress and do my make-up…"

Mrs. Kamiya smiled at Kari, gripped her shoulder and led her towards the bathroom. Once they were there, the older woman began to pull out all types of beauty products.

When Mrs. Kamiya finally declared Kari finished, she turned to Kari and told her that she had one more surprise for her. "I have a good idea about which dress you should wear," she said. "How about instead of one of your old ones, you wear this dress that I picked up at the mall the other day." She gestured towards a black garment bag draped over a kitchen chair that Kari hadn't noticed as she walked in.

Hurrying over to it, Mrs. Kamiya slid the protective covering off, revealing a gorgeous pink dress. Kari rushed to her room to put it on, loving it more and more every second. The dress was strapless and floor length, made of a soft, flowing fabric. She zipped up the back and walked back into the living room where her mother was waiting.

As soon as Mrs. Kamiya saw Kari in the dress she gave an involuntary gasp. With her fantastic hair, sparkling eyes, and the dress that clung to her perfectly she looked more like she belonged in a castle or a mansion than their little apartment.

Kari looked at the clock. It was five fifty-five, so she sat down to wait for her date.


	14. Chapter 14

At about a quarter after six, an out of breath T.K. finally knocked on Kari's door. Kari, who had been terrified that something awful had happened was immensely relieved to see him, throwing her arms around him as he walked through the doorway.

When she stepped away from him, T.K.'s heart melted. She was most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. Not wanting to be rude staring, he memorized the way she looked quickly. In her heels she was almost as tall as him, her dress hiding her slim legs, but showing off her narrow waist. Her breasts were a bit small, but perfect in T.K.'s eyes, though he wasn't the kind of guy to really care. Dark brown, almost ruby eyes smiled at him beneath shimmering pink eyelids and long, curling eyelashes.

T.K. apologized for being late, explaining that he had been waiting for his mother to get home when she called at six to tell him that she had to stay another night in Kyoto. Kari reassured him that it was all right, their entire conversation taking place in a circle of flashing light as Mrs. Kamiya ran around taking pictures of the couple.

After a few poses, they finally managed to escape Kari's mom and headed downstairs where the limo was parked Ken and Yolei were waiting. Gatomon and Patamon followed, keeping a close eye on their friends, but also making sure that no one else happened to see them in the process.

The ride to the school was just as much fun as Kari had anticipated that it would be. But then, things were usually fun when Yolei was around.

As they exited the limousine and made their way towards the school's front entrance, Kari felt T.K.'s hand grip hers. She looked up at him and immediately noticed how his face was lined with worry.

She pulled gently on the hand that held hers and led him away from the stream of people entering the school. When they were fairly concealed in the shadows Kari shivered and wrapped her free arm around herself.

"T.K. maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Kari began slowly. "We have a responsibility to the digital world. If we go now I'm sure we could get ahold of Izzy, and Sora…"

"No," T.K. said, cutting her off. "We can take care of Piedmon later. Right now, let's just try and have some fun." He put on a fake smile and quickly pulled her back towards the warmth of the school. Inside however, T.K. could hear Piedmon's shrill laughter over and over, interrupting his thoughts.

Blaring music and flashing lights brought him back to reality as they stepped into the gym and made their way to the table where Yolei was setting down her purse. The fact that their hands were still laced together drew many interesting looks, many of them spiteful.

T.K.'s nerve faltered slightly once again as he saw boys that he considered friends glare at him from across the room. Kari laughed at his reaction and grabbed his arm to better lead him towards Ken and Yolei.

Kari quickly set down her purse before dragging T.K. out onto the dance floor. The song was fast and very familiar, yet it took T.K. a curiously long amount of time for him to recognize his brother's voice.

Yet, despite the presence of his older brother, T.K. was determined to take his own advice and have fun. As they danced, T.K. slowly began to forget about Piedmon, his thoughts becoming more and more focused on Kari. Whenever they danced before, they always refrained from getting too close or too provocative. Hesitantly, he placed his hands on her hips, unsure of where they stood as a couple. They had kissed, but had it meant anything to her? Sure she had kissed him back and agreed to go to the dance with him, but did that say anything? T.K. knew more than anything that he loved her, had wanted to tell her ever since they had kissed, but didn't know how to say it. Should he say it straight out or should he wait for the right timing?

Anyways, the music ended, pulling T.K. out of his thoughts. Kari gestured towards the table and T.K. followed her through the throng of people. When they reached the table, Kari immediately began a conversation with another girl sitting with them, though T.K. didn't recognize her. He was about to sit down in the chair next to her when a hand gripped his shoulder from behind.

T.K. whirled around swiftly, his arms raised in defense, but relaxed when his warm blue eyes met the icy blue of Matt's.

"Hey bro, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something." Matt's gaze strayed to where Kari was deep in conversation with her friend, so he sat down next to where T.K. had just been intending to sit.

"Oh, God, not again," T.K. complained, expecting another lecture about sex.

"Please, just hear me out," Matt answered. "Look, ummm, ever since I first learned how to play the harmonica, there's been this one song that's always stuck in my head. A long time ago I wrote it out, but never recorded it because I could never come up with lyrics that worked. Then the other day, I found this notebook underneath the couch, and I thought it was probably yours, but I looked though it anyway."

T.K. opened his mouth to most likely lecture Matt about invading his privacy when Matt went on; "You know the poem that you had written in there? Well, I understand if you're mad or anything but I put it with my song, and I think it's going to be a hit."

T.K. looked at Matt devoid of expression, "then why haven't you recorded it yet?"

"Well, I wanted your permission first."

"I don't care Matt. You can use it if you want."

"Thanks T.K.," Matt said, "and I'm sorry about earlier. I should have known how you feel about Kari when I read your poem." T.K. was expecting him to say more, but Matt was looking at a point behind T.K. where Kari was just saying goodbye to her friend.

As the other girl walked away, Kari turned towards the two brothers, her arm wrapping around T.K.'s affectionately.

"So Matt," Kari said, "rumor has it you're going to be playing a new song tonight."

"Yeah," he replied, "in fact I was just going to play it right now."

"Really? That's great. I'd say good luck, but I'm sure it's going to be great," Kari said, flashing him her brilliant smile.

"Don't worry, it is," he answered, looking at his younger brother. With that he hurried back across the room and over to the stage where the rest of his band was waiting for T.K.'s reply.

Meanwhile Yolei returned to the table and took the seat next to Kari. Shortly after they had greeted each other however, Kari felt T.K.'s hand grip her arm. She quickly pulled away from her friend and leaned over so that she was face to face with T.K. Worry flooded into her as she saw how pale his face was, or how clammy his hand was as it grasped her arm.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he whispered in return. Though he knew what it was. It was Piedmon's voice growing louder, his face appearing in T.K.'s mind. It was Piedmon waiting until he let his guard down to pull him into the digital world.

Kari knew what he was going through, after all, she had experienced all of it and more when she was taken to the Dark Ocean. She put her hand on his cheek, wanting to do more to help comfort him, but not wanting to start some crazy rumors.

He smiled at her touch, the terror fading as the moment passed. Kari looked towards the stage where Matt had taken a seat at the school's small piano. He began playing the first few notes of his new song, so T.K. helped Kari to her feet and led her onto the dance floor.

"_Remember when,"_

Matt's voice sang across the room.

"Kari, there's something I want to tell you…" T.K. began.

"_We never needed each other_

_The best of friends, like_

_Sister and brother_

_We understood_

_We'd never be_

_Alone"_

Kari heard T.K. but she was listening much closer to the words of Matt's song.

"_Those days are gone_

_And I want you so much._

_The night is young,_

_And I need your touch_

_Don't know what to say_

_Never meant to feel this way_

_Don't wanna be _

_Alone tonight"_

"Kari," T.K. said slowly, "this song that Matt's singing…well…the words are from a poem that I wrote…"

"_What can I do to make it right?_

_Falling so hard, so fast, this time_

_What did I say? What did you do?_

_How did I fall in love with you?"_

She looked up at him, her eyes filled with sudden understanding.

"_I hear your voice_

_And I start to tremble_

_Brings back the child that _

_I resemble_

_I cannot pretend_

_That we can still be friends_

_Don't wanna be _

_Alone tonight"_

T.K. smiled at her, trying to convince himself to say the words that his heart had been saying for years. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is…"

_"What can I do to make it right?_

_Falling so hard, so fast, this time_

_What did I say? What did you do?_

_How did I fall in love with you?"_

Then the world turned upside down. One minute they were dancing close together, and the next T.K. was being pulled through a digi-port that appeared suddenly in the middle of the dance floor.

"_Oh I want to say this right_

_And it has to be tonight_

_Just need you to know, oh yeah_

_I don't want to live this life_

_I don't want to say goodbye_

_With you I wanna spend_

_The rest of my life"_

The light from the portal illuminated the dimly lit gymnasium, blinding everyone nearby so that they didn't notice as Gatomon and Patamon leapt out from underneath the table and followed T.K. and Kari into the digital world.

"_What can I do to make it right?_

_Falling so hard, so fast, this time_

_Everything's changed_

_We never knew_

_How did I fall, _

_In love,_

_With you?"_

-------------------------------------------------------------

"How Did I Fall in Love With You"

Performed by: Howie Dorough on the Backstreet Boys Black & Blue


	15. Chapter 15

Kari, T.K., and the two digimon landed in a heap on the ground, limbs and wings hopelessly entangled. Though they were used to these ungraceful landings, it took them several minutes to pry themselves away from each other.

The first thing Kari noticed when she was finally exposed to the air was the cold. But when she shivered, it wasn't as much from the temperature as it was from the memory of being cold during her last visit.

She leaned forward to lend T.K. a hand in standing, but as she did so, a shadow shifted behind her, causing her to jump in surprise. T.K. stood next to her and had no sooner placed a comforting hand on her shoulder when Piedmon's familiar cackle erupted from the darkness surrounding them.

"What a pity," he cooed. "All dressed up and no place to go."

The two humans both instinctively gripped their D-3s and turned towards their digimon, preparing to fight for their lives. However, the same force that seemed to be interfering with the digi-portals seemed to be hindering Gatomon and Patamon's ability to digivolve.

"What do we do now?" Kari cried, trying her best not to panic.

"We run!" T.K. answered, grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the evil digimon.

Weaving between the menacing trees and dark undergrowth did not allow for as quick a pace as T.K. had expected, but that turned out to be a good thing for Kari, who was deciding that running in heels should be a new Olympic sport. They had been on the run for very long when they reached the familiar clearing where their previous encounter with Piedmon, Devimon, and LadyDevimon had occurred.

T.K. hesitated, unsure whether it was safer to cut across the clearing or to keep hidden in the trees and move around it. But, while he was still deciding, they heard Piedmon's evil laughter again, from very close behind them.

It was all of the motivation T.K. needed. He gripped Kari's hand again and the four of them took off through the clearing. As luck would have it though, when they were directly in the middle of the field, the heel of Kari's shoe snapped, causing her to fall face-first into the dirt.

A second later, T.K. was by her side, trying to help her stand up. His hands were on her hips, holding her upright as she pulled of her shoes and flung them away. She was just about to continue their hurtle when Piedmon's figure appeared out of the trees.

"Clown Trick!" he cried out, and bands of rope appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around them, preventing them from moving.

Gatomon ran forward to cut through the bindings, but every time she got within two feet of them, she was thrown backwards as if repelled off an invisible wall.

Still unable to digivolve, the two digimon hopelessly tried to take the ultimate level villain on their own. As it would seem, Patamon's Boom Bubble Puffs, and Gatomon's Lightning Claws had almost no effect on Piedmon, as he brushed them away.

Piedmon took a step towards the two humans, as Kari finally allowed panic to settle in. She looked up at at T.K. and said, "Come on, we have to think of something. It can't end like this!"

Realization struck T.K. as he stood bound in the middle of the clearing, holding Kari in his arms. "Kari, I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What? You're sorry for what?" she demanded, quite confused by his proclamation.

"I'm sorry for not telling you that I love you. I should have told you every day, and in case this is the end, then I just wanted you to know that I love you. I love you. I love you."

Piedmon was getting closer, and Kari didn't know whether to cry or laugh. "You're timing sucks," she whispered back to T.K. "But I love you to." And even though certain death awaited them, he kissed her, and she kissed him back with all of the passion that she'd always felt for him.

T.K. and Kari hadn't noticed it, but as they touched, Kari's light once again illuminated the darkness of this section of the digiworld. However, the light that came from the two lovers was not just the bright pink of before, but interlaced with ribbons of shining gold.

Instinctively, Piedmon raised his arms to shield his face, and the both the cords around T.K. and Kari, and the barrier preventing digivolution broke away. A second later Angewomon and MagnaAngemon were back in action.

A Celestial Arrow and a trip through the Gate of Destiny later, Piedmon was once again out of their lives. T.K. and Kari, still lip locked in the center of the clearing, were oblivious to the clearing of the skies, and the return of life to the region.

What finally broke the couple apart was the crash in the trees as Garurumon, Exveemon, Stingmon, Aquillamon, Ankylomon, Kabuterimon, Matt, Davis, Ken, Yolei, Cody and Izzy came thundering into the field. Kari laughed, if they had been just seconds faster, they could have actually helped.

Hearing her laugh, T.K. wrapped his arms back around her and kissed her again, despite their enthusiastic audience. This action led to wild cheers from Yolei, who threw her arms around Ken and kissed him hard. Matt rolled his eyes, while Izzy and Cody turned away in embarrassment. All of them were excited for their friends, even Davis (who had always known it was going to happen), but of course they were all much more excited about the fact that Piedmon was gone and that T.K. and Kari were safe. This meant that they could now return to Japan for a night of celebration.


	16. Chapter 16

Much later that night, Kari gently slid out of T.K.'s arms. Tip-toeing across the floor, she somehow managed to find T.K.'s white, button-up shirt among the heap their clothes had made beside his bed. Slipping on his shirt, she silently slid open the glass doorwall and stepped out onto the balcony. She gripped the iron railing, took a deep breath and contemplated everything that had occurred in the last few days.

Not too much time had passed when Kari sensed T.K.'s approach even before she heard the door slide open and he stepped up behind her.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear, caressing the side of her neck with his lips.

"I know," she replied, turning in his embrace so that she was facing him, and he immediately noticed her troubled expression. "Do you think he's gone for good this time?" she asked, revealing the source of her worries.

"I think so," T.K. reassured her.

"But how do you know? You can't be sure. We thought we had defeated him before, and Devimon, and LadyDevimon..."

T.K.'s jaw tightened when she mentioned Devimon and his eyes illuminated with what could only be identified as pure hope.

Kari continued, "Don't you remember when we fought him all those years ago? It took WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, and all of the others to get him through the Gate of Destiny. Isn't it really strange that this time around Angewomon was able to accomplish it without their help? I wouldn't say that she's that much stronger than she used to be, especially with all of the donuts she's been eating."

T.K. was silent for a minute before he said, "There _was_ one thing that was different this time. Didn't you notice how your light and my hope became so strong when we kissed that it took a physical form. That's what destroyed Piedmon, or at least weakened him so that Angewomon's attack could have such a fatal impact."

"Do you think that it weakened him so much that he won't come back?" Kari asked, still worried.

T.K. smiled, "We're so much stronger when we're together that he would have to be completely nuts to try to challenge us now." Kari laughed at the simplicity of T.K.'s theory, yet she was more than willing to have faith in him.

He cut off her laugh with a deep, tender kiss. Lifting her into his arms, he then carried her back to bed, and as they made love, a majestic pink and gold rainbow streaked across the sky over the digital world.

The End


End file.
